The US State Department announced that delegations from Israel and Lebanon met on Tuesday at the ministry’s headquarters in the fourth round of direct talks held under the auspices of the United States. She noted in a statement that “progress is still continuing on the political and security tracks, within the framework of overcoming the failures of the past twenty years and progressing towards a comprehensive agreement aimed at restoring Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring Israel’s security.”  The ministry stressed that the United States remains fully committed to facilitating these “historic negotiations,” noting that a new round of talks is scheduled to be held on Wednesday. Earlier, An-Nahar’s correspondent in Washington quoted a private source as saying that “the fourth round talks between Lebanon and Israel were good and focused on the mechanism for implementing the ceasefire.” The American Ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, stated, at the end of the first day of the round of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, that the atmosphere is positive and that the issue of a ceasefire needs some time. In response to a question about the possibility of reaching a comprehensive ceasefire, he replied: “This is what we are seeking.” Leaks following the fourth round of indirect negotiations between Lebanon and Israel in Washington revealed an atmosphere described as positive, amid growing talk about a possible ceasefire agreement for a period of 60 days, at a time when basic points remain outstanding related to the Israeli withdrawal and post-truce arrangements. The Israeli Broadcasting Authority quoted informed sources as saying that the Lebanese-Israeli negotiations are “going well” and that there are “agreements” between the two sides, noting that the administration of US President Donald Trump is pushing hard to contain the escalation and prevent the expansion of the war in Lebanon. Israeli leaks indicated that Israel will not target Beirut in the next stage, but in return it does not intend to withdraw from the areas it currently controls, which constitutes one of the most prominent contracts on the negotiating table. For his part, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Israel and Lebanon “can reach a peace agreement on Wednesday,” considering that Hezbollah constitutes the main obstacle to that, and pointing out the presence of elements within the Lebanese military establishment that Washington does not view positively because of what he described as instances of cooperation or facilitation for the party.